2010

2011

2012

20132014

20152016

Ontario Municipalities: Who’s on social media?

72% of Ontario municipalities are on social media.

Of the 321 Ontario municipalities currently using social media, 16% have joined in the past two years, and 7% got started within the past year. Although growth is still positive, it’s slowed down since 2014.

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Ontario’s municipalities are becoming more creative, sophisticated and engaging in their use of social media. A significant portion of municipal Heads of Council are getting social online, too. Scroll down to find out who’s using social media and how.

MUNICIPALGOVERNMENT 2.02 0 1 6 E D I T I O N

Facebook continues to top the list of preferred social media platforms across municipalities, followed closely by Twitter.

Social Media Use By Platform

Liking, Linking and ‘Gramming From 2015 to 2016, the platforms with the most growth amongst municipalities were Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, though Facebook and Twitter are still the favoured platforms by far.

CentralizedMunicipalities with just one main account per social media platform

MixedMunicipalities that use a central account and up to three specialized accounts for different departments and service areas

DecentralizedMunicipalities with four or more accounts dedicated to different departments or service areas

36%Mixed

39%Centralized

26%Decentralized

97%Facebook 81%

Twitter

12%LinkedIn

7%Instagram

32%YouTube

One Account or Many?

34% of municipalities

that have transit systems

use social media to

engage with riders.

Generally, our data shows that local-tier and single-tier municipalities with populations of less than 10,000 tend to have the strongest preference for a centralized approach.

Counties or regional-tier municipalities and municipalities with larger populations (75,000+) tend to prefer the mixed or decentralized approach, supplementing their main social media presence with unique accounts for specific departments and service areas.

LIBR

ARI

ES

EMER

GEN

CY

SERV

ICES

TOU

RISM

ART

S &

C

ULT

URE

PARK

S &

RE

CRE

ATIO

N

ECO

NO

MIC

DEV

ELO

PMEN

T

FESTIVALS / EVENTS

SOCIAL SERVICES / PUBLIC HEALTH

YOUTH

RECYCLING / WASTE

TRANSIT / TRANSPORTATION

59%52%

29%25%

18% 17%12%

9% 7% 7%4%

Which departments are branching off on their own? Of the municipalities using a decentralized or mixed approach, these departments are most likely to have their own dedicated social media presence:

Specialized Accounts

Social Media Use By REGION

Northeastern

46%

Northwestern

62%

Social Media Use by POPULATION

Small municipalities accounted for the largest increase in new social media accounts in 2016.

Not surprisingly, social media use is highest in southern Ontario.

In 2016, growth was greatest in central, southwestern and northeastern Ontario.

Small Municipalities(0 to 10,000 people)

Medium Municipalities(10,000 to 75,000 people)

Large Municipalities(75,000+ people)

59%

91% 97%

*up 7% from 2015

*down 1% from 2015

on social mediaon social media

on social media

Eastern

75%Central

97%Southwestern

82%

*up 3% from 2015

Which municipalities have the most likes and followers on their central Facebook and Twitter accounts?

Most Popular Municipalities

1. Sault Ste. Marie

2. London

3. Niagara Falls

4. Ottawa

5. Mississauga

6. Kitchener

7. York Region

8. Niagara Region

9. Tweed

10. Huron County

11. Kingston

12. Brockville

13. Barrie

14. Sudbury

15. Prince Edward County

16. Guelph

17. City of Waterloo

18. Timmins

19. Oakville

20. Thunder Bay

Most Liked: Facebook

Most Liked Per Capita: Facebook

1. Pelee

2. Tweed

4. Schreiber

5. Marathon

6. Terrace Bay

7. Ignace

8. Nipigon

9. Georgian Bay

10. Sundridge

11. Matachewan

12. Gauthier

13. Red Rock

14. Assiginack

15. Temagami

16. Cobalt

17. Goderich

19. Gordon/Barrie Island

20. Rainy River

18. Smooth Rock Falls

3. Sioux Narrows - Nestor Falls

#1

Most Followed Per Capita

1. Pelee

2. Georgian Bay

3. Nipigon

4. Whitestone

5. Terrace Bay

6. City of Waterloo

7. Gananoque

8. Red Rock

9. Schreiber

11. Sioux Narrows - Nestor Falls

12. Lake of Bays

13. Gravenhurst

15. North Kawartha

16. Stirling-Rawdon

17. Assiginack

18. French River

19. Guelph

20. Niagara Falls

10. Niagara-on- the-Lake

14. Petrolia

Most Followed: Twitter

11. Niagara Falls

12. York Region

13. Niagara Region

14. Peel Region

15. Burlington

16. Durham Region

17. Barrie

18. St. Catharines

19. Oakville

20. Oshawa

1. Toronto

2. Ottawa

3. Kitchener

4. Waterloo Region

5. City of Waterloo

6. Hamilton

7. Mississauga

8. London

9. Guelph

10. Kingston

Tweeting Heads: How are Heads of Council using social media?

While municipalities prefer Facebook, individual Heads of Council prefer Twitter...

...and it’s no wonder: The average

following of a Head of

Council’s Twitter is 3,741, more than twice that of

Facebook, which is

1,571.

The Heads of Council who use social media tend to be from central and western Ontario.

62% of Heads of Council from

large municipalities (75,000+) are on

social media.

28% of Ontario’s Heads of Council are on social media.

Head of Council: A mayor, reeve, warden or regional chair of a municipality.

on Facebook

59% on Twitter

80%

Most Liked and Followed Heads of Council

1. Reeve Carol Mo�att, Algonquin Highlands

2. Mayor Robin Jones, Westport

10. Mayor Peter Politis, Cochrane

9. Mayor Steve Black, Timmins

8. Mayor Ken Bennington, Shelburne

7. Mayor Shawn Pankow, Smiths Falls

6. Mayor Kurtis Smith, Adelaide-Metcalfe

5. Mayor Jack Siemens, Emo

4. Mayor Rob Lane, Gore Bay

3. Mayor Eric Duncan, North Dundas

Which Heads of Council have the most followers and likes on Facebook and Twitter? #1

1. Mayor John Tory, Toronto

2. Mayor Jim Watson, Ottawa

10. Mayor Christian Provenzano, Sault Ste. Marie

9. Mayor Rob Burton, Oakville

8. Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, Kitchener

7. Mayor Steve Black, Timmins

6. Mayor Walter Sendzik, St. Catharines

5. Mayor Linda Je�rey, Brampton

4. Mayor Matt Brown, London

3. Mayor Bonnie Crombie, Mississauga

20. Rainy River

20. Kitchener

Most Followed: Twitter

Most Followed Per Capita: Twitter

1. Mayor John Tory, Toronto

2. Mayor Jim Watson, Ottawa

10. Mayor Fred Eisenberger, Hamilton

9. Mayor Cam Guthrie, Guelph

8. Mayor Rick Goldring, Burlington

7. Mayor Rob Burton, Oakville

6. Mayor Matt Brown, London

5. Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, Kitchener

4. Mayor Je� Lehman, Barrie

3. Mayor Bonnie Crombie, Mississauga

1. Reeve Carol Mo�att, Algonquin Highlands

2. Mayor Eric Duncan, North Dundas

10. Mayor Jim Watson, Ottawa

9. Mayor Peter McIsaac, Powassan

8. Mayor Graydon Smith, Bracebridge

7. Mayor Kurtis Smith, Adelaide-Metcalfe

6. Mayor Jeremy Williams, Orangeville

5. Mayor Robin Jones, Westport

4. Mayor Brett Todd, Prescott

3. Mayor Todd Case, Warwick

Most Liked Per Capita: Facebook

Most Liked: Facebook

via: tagul.com

What are municipalities tweeting about?

of municipalities have an app, up from 20% in 2015.23%

Municipal Government: There’s an App For That!

Open Data

Open data is an emerging area of interest for Ontarians and municipalities are catching on. Currently, just 30 of Ontario’s 444 municipal governments make their data sets available through a dedicated open data portal, but it’s something that’s attracting increasing interest.

Of the municipalities that have launched an open data portal, here’s the type of information you’re most likely to find:

MA

PPIN

G &

BO

UN

DA

RIES

83%

TRA

FFIC

& T

RAN

SIT

70%

LAN

D U

SE /

PLA

NN

ING

63%

SOC

IO-C

ULT

URA

L &

DEM

OG

RAPH

IC

60%FA

CIL

ITIE

S &

SER

VIC

ES57%

GO

VER

NM

ENT

& E

LEC

TIO

NS

53%

ENV

IRO

NM

ENT

& E

NER

GY

50%

WA

STE

COLL

ECTI

ON

37%

BUSI

NES

S &

EC

DEV

37%

Getti

ng the word out

85% of active municipalities promote their social media presence on their website

Municipalities to Watch

Hurontario-Main LRT ProjectErin Meadows Community Centre

Mississauga MuseumsHuron Park Community Centre

Burnhamthorpe Community Centre Meadowvale Community Centre

Carmen Corbasson Community Centre Malton Community Centre

River Grove Community Centre Mississauga Green

Mississauga Valley Community CentreMississauga Fire

Clarkson Community Centre Mississauga Recreation

Meadowvale Theatre Mississauga Sports Leagues

Mississauga SnowMississauga TheatreMississauga Library

South Common Community Centre Mississauga Youth

Mississauga Parks and Forestry Mississauga Culture

Mississauga DataFrank McKechnie Community Centre

Mississauga BusinessMississauga Celebration Square MiWay Helps

Great things come in small packages! Pelee Island, although only 41 square kilometres and with a population of 171, has a combined social media following of 4,279. That’s about 25x the population of Pelee! Pelee’s social media success can be attributed to frequent posts, using images and hashtags, and linking to their website, which is updated on a regular basis.

With 16 separate Twitter accounts and 20 Facebook accounts, Mississauga is an example of a municipality using a decentralized model well. After Toronto, Mississauga has the most social media accounts of all 444 municipalities, and it’s working. The combined following of all of Mississauga’s social media accounts is 121,432. That’s almost 20% of Mississauga’s total population. Search “Mississauga” on Twitter or Facebook and you’ll find everything from libraries, community centres, museums, and transit. There’s even a Twitter account dedicated to snow removal!

Mississauga: A Decentralized Dynamo

Pelee Island: Small Community, Big Impact

Elected Officials to Watch

Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa is a great example of a Head of Council who is effectively using social media. He uses a positive tone, incorporates multimedia, and adds just the right amount of personality. Mayor Watson engages on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. And even with 96.8K followers on Twitter, he still finds the time to reply to many tweets personally. He also complements his social media presence with his own blog, which he posts to once every couple of weeks. Jim Watson

Mayor of Ottawa

416 Instagram Followers

Rick Goldring, Mayor of Burlington has all his bases covered when it comes to social media: he’s active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and his own blog. Mayor Goldring shows it’s not enough to just have an account— you have to use it! His success is also attributed to the fact that he links to his social media accounts across all platforms and through his website.

Mayor of Burlington

Rick Goldring 1.8K Facebook Likes 9.5K Twitter Followers

14K Facebook Likes 96.8K Twitter Followers

8.9K Instagram Followers

Jim Watson was

the only HOC of a large municipality

(75,000+ people) to be in the top ten of our “Most Followed Per

Capita” list!

How could we not mention Toronto councillor Norm Kelly? Ever since his Twitter feud with rapper Meek Mill, and an ongoing “bromance” with Drake, Councillor Kelly has taken the Twittersphere by storm. He’s successful on social media by posting daily and keeping on top of pop culture trends. Of course, Councillor Kelly still uses social media to get the word out about important city-related matters.

Norm KellyToronto Councillor, Ward 40

2.3K Facebook Likes 372K Twitter Followers

34.7K Instagram Followers

Leading both the Most Liked Per Capita and Most Followed Per Capita lists, Carol Moffatt, Reeve of Algonquin Highlands, is showing eastern Ontario how it’s done! Consider this: Reeve Moffatt has over 1,000 likes on Facebook, equal to almost half the population of Algonquin Highlands. She also has her own website, www.carolmoffatt.ca, where she links to both her social media handles.

Reeve of Algonquin Highlands

Carol Moffatt 1K Facebook Likes 618 Twitter Followers

METHODOLOGY:

• Redbrick’s Municipal Social Media Survey looks at social media use by all 444 municipalities in Ontario. • Our research has looked at social media activity between April 2010 and July 2016.• Data on ‘Likes’ and ‘Followers’ applies to central accounts only, and was collected on July 31, 2016.• Population Data is based on 2011 population census data from Statistics Canada.• Geographic divisions are based on the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing OnRAMP regional divisions.• Produced by Teri Clark, Social and Digital Media Strategist, and Jacqueline Demers, Senior Consultant.

About Redbrick

Redbrick Communications is a Mississauga-based consulting firm with an extensive municipal practice. We’ve been tracking social media use since 2010. For free help with social media, including sample policies, tips and tricks, visit: bit.ly/RedSMS.

Follow us on Twitter: @RedbrickComms or @BrianLambie. Contact us at 905-271-1669 or ruby@redbrick.ca

www.redbrick.ca

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